Design objet d’week, 8 March 2024: user-centred soap

A basin with a soap holder which sticks out of the white tiled-wall directly, on a brass holder. There is a solid, yellow, cylindrical bar of soap on it. There is also a faucet, a plastic bottle of liquid soap and flowery wallpaper in the photo.


Environmentally-friendly, no-slip soap

What it is, and where we found it: What we are looking at here in this picture is the yellow soap, and crucially its holder. This week’s object was found at the lovely co-working space in Paris that I’m working from, La Canopée.

Why it’s highly usable: This is the best everyday object design I’ve seen in quite a while. Form and function beautifully realised. It’s so usable; you just wash your hands and soap them. No slippery bar, no unpressable presser.

Why else we like it: Minimal, easily biodegradable packaging; I didn’t see it but I’d hazard a guess it came in cardboard rather than plastic*. Excellent use of space, does not use up any basin surface area, and is at a height just right for the task. Not to mention cheerful, dare I say delightful, to look at!

*have checked, yes it did.

History: From what we can gather, it is or was a feature on school bathroom walls.

Can I get one? Yes you can, from a shop on Montmartre, or choose from a vast array of wall-mounted holders on the French Soaps website. We’re going to, for sure!